


no, i gaze joyfully

by orphan_account



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Lando Week, M/M, solar eclipse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 13:12:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11875227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When Han agrees to go eclipse watching, he gets a little bit more than he'd bargained for.





	no, i gaze joyfully

Han hefted the cooler into the truck, filling it halfway up with ice before grudgingly dunking in the cans of pink lemonade. Lying in a cornfield, staring up at the sky and drinking anything _but_ beer would feel intrinsically wrong, _treasonous_ , even. But it was Leia he was meeting, and the woman hated beer just as much as Han hated wine. So, a compromise had to be made, and pink lemonade it was.

At least it wasn’t champagne. Ever since the breakup, even just _looking_ at the blasted drink made him feel sick.

At the last minute, he remembered to toss in some sunglasses before jumping into the truck and pulling out. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, the dusty roads stretching before him. After flipping through four or five radio stations, the ingratiating hosts wearing him down in mere seconds, he finally elected to shut the damn thing off and get some quiet. Hell, if he was meeting Leia, he’d need it; that woman sure loved to talk.

Han passed a tractor trailer, frowning. He still wasn’t sure what had prompted Leia to finally suggest that they hang out; ever since she’d started dating that blonde chick (Evie? Evelyn? Evan? Something like that, anyway,) he barely saw her anymore. In the past three months, she’d missed all but _one_ Super Smash Bros Night. And now that Luke had moved out and gotten a studio downtown with that art kid, Rook, Super Smash Bros Night was slowly becoming Get Super Smashed And Eat An Entire Pizza Alone Night.

Which was fine.

Because who cared if his friends were all moving on with their lives and accomplishing things? Certainly not Han. It didn’t bother him one tiny bit.

Besides, Luke being gone had its benefits. Han knew the kid was still friends with _Him_. And Han was doing everything in his power to avoid ever seeing _Him_ again.

He moved into the left lane, easing off the gas to take the exit to their favorite spot. Leia must’ve realized they needed to hang out more, that’s all. His heart rose slightly as he wondered if Luke would stop by, too. After all, the kid was crazy about this space stuff.

When he pulled up to their spot in the field, it was empty. Han shook his head. Typical Leia, always a half step late. Well, at least this gave him time to unpack everything, show her how much more responsible he’d become. Hell, he’d even remembered a blanket.

Setting the cooler next to him, he stretched out on the blanket, letting the sun warm him and inhaling the earthy breeze. After weeks of stale apartment air and dingy fluorescent lights— it was nice. A welcome change.

He felt the earth rumble under him as another car pulled up. _Finally_. “It’s about time, Leia,” he grinned, sitting up and turning around to see—

Not Leia.

Han’s heart skipped about three dozen beats.

_Oh, Fuck._

* * *

 

Lando yanked the key out of the ignition, grabbing his water bottle and eclipse glasses before stepping out of the champagne colored Camaro. “Luke, I’m—” He stopped short as his eyes fell on the man on the blanket.

 _Han_.

Lando turned on his heels. “That’s it, I’m out.”

“Lando, _wait_ ,” Han called.

Heaving a sigh, Lando stopped, letting Han scramble to his feet and run after him. “Lando, what’s going on? Is Leia with you?”

“Leia? Why would Leia be here, I was supposed to meet Luke—oh.” Realization clicked into place in an instant. “Those _bastards_.”

“Wait, what? What do you mean?”

“Do I really have to spell it out for you? Fine,” Lando said, counting on his fingers exasperatedly. “ _One_ , you were supposed to meet Leia here. _Two_ , I was supposed to meet Luke here. _Three_ , neither of them showed up. Follow yet?”

A scowl darkened Han’s face.

“The twins set us up,” Lando finished, just as Han said, “The dickheads set us up.”

They were silent for a second before Lando burst out laughing, Han sheepishly joining in after a moment. Oh, how he’d almost forgotten the _mouth_ on his ex.

Different kinds of memories about _that mouth_ passed through him, and he shivered. Froze. What was he _doing?_ Laughing with his ex-boyfriend in the spot where they’d shared their first kiss was _not_ what Lando had planned when he woke up this morning. Han always did this— made him forget what he was mad about, made him forget everything but the curve of his lips and the curl of his hair— No _. Snap out of it, Calrissian._

“Well.” Lando shifted his weight. “I should…get going, then,” he said, stepping towards the Camaro.

“Wait!” Han said hurriedly, grabbing his shoulder. “What about the eclipse? If you drive away now, you’ll miss it.”

“Not if I drive down the road a mile and watch it by myself,” Lando shot back.

Han gave him a look. “Lando, come on. Are we really incapable of being, I don’t know, friends, at least?”

“Maybe,” he said stubbornly. Han stuck out his lower lip in a half pout and Lando rolled his eyes, relenting. “Fine. Friends, it is.”

He could do that. _Friends_ was healthy. _Friends_ was normal. _Friends_ was what exes who’d broken up almost six months ago _should_ be.

So why did uttering the word _friends_ make him feel like his heart was breaking all over again?

* * *

 Han sipped his pink lemonade. Checked his watch. Started a groupchat with Luke and Leia just to cuss them out. And finally, _finally_ snuck a glance at Lando.

He looked good. _Really_ good. He was sporting a new haircut, his skin shone, and his arms and torso were chiseled in places they hadn’t been the last time Han had seen him. _Lando_ , obviously, had not spent the last six months crashed on a couch, drinking and wallowing in self-pity. And Han was just now starting to realize that maybe that hadn’t been the best idea.

“So, how are you going to watch it?” Lando asked.

“Huh?”

“The eclipse, idiot. You don’t have any glasses.”

“Oh,” Han said stupidly. “I, uh, thought I’d make my own.”

“What?”

Sheepishly, Han put on three pairs of sunglasses at once and turned to show Lando. “See?”

Lando smacked them off his face. “You’re an absolute fool, you know that, right? Or do you just have a burning desire to go blind?”

“Hey,” Han complained. “How do you know they wouldn’t work, Professor Von Genius?”

“Because I’m not an imbecile, that’s why,” Lando said, tossing Han an extra pair of eclipse glasses. “Here. Take these. Now that we’re _friends_ , I can’t have you scorching your retinas, okay?”

“Okay,” Han said, putting on the glasses and looking up. “ _Whoa!_ Lando, _look_ , it’s started—” He broke off, noticing Lando watching him amusedly. “I mean. I think there’s something going on, up there, and I know you care about that stuff, for whatever reason,” he finished, determinedly nonchalant.

Lando just chuckled. Han flushed, putting his glasses back on and staring determinedly at the sky. Lando always did this— made him lose his cool, turned what Han liked to think of as a suave persona into a bumbling idiot with the barest flick of an eyebrow. Well, he couldn’t make a fool of himself if he didn’t open his mouth. So, they sat in silence, watching the moon cut a dark crescent across the sun.

Twenty minutes later, Lando spoke. “See how dark it’s getting? We’re almost to totality.”

“Huh,” Han said.  

Lando lowered his glasses and looked at him. “Han. You can stop pretending you don’t care.”

“But I _don’t_ care,” Han said reflexively.

“Really? Not at all? The daylight giving way to darkness, the heavens and depths exchanging places, the sun and moon locked in a deadly battle? None of that interests you?”

“What, fancy yourself a poet now?” Han laughed derisively. “And nope, not at all. You want I should lose my shit every time something different happens in the sky? Newsflash, we live on the ground, not in the sky. So, I’ll say it again: I. Don’t. Care.”

“Suit yourself,” Lando said, raising his hands defensively and then replacing his glasses.

Han looked up too, crossing his arms. He wasn’t sure what made him be so obstinate. Something about Lando— it made him so goddamn _frustrated_.

The moon crawled so slowly Han wasn’t sure whether it was actually moving at all, but then— _there_. It snapped into place over the sun like a lid to a plastic tupperware. Then, around it— Han sucked in a breath. A glow, a luminous ring, something that probably had a fancy scientific name that Han didn’t know and Lando probably did. It was brilliant. It was radiant. It was awe inspiring and wonder producing and it _opened_ something deep in Han, unlocked something shining and resplendent, filled his world with light even through the unnatural darkness.

“Lando,” Han said.

“Yes?”

“I lied.”

Before he could even open his mouth to explain, Lando was there. Kissing him. Hands tangled in his hair. Han grabbed his collar and pulled him closer, falling into him desperately, the last six months melting away with the last strains of sunlight.


End file.
